Our Place and Mason London to join 22 designers and studios in exhibition, For Iraq and Syria

London-based freelance graphic designer Yasseen Faik is the man behind For Iraq and Syria, a collaborative poster project and soon-to-be exhibition between 22 designers and studios in partnership with Grey Jam Press with a single shared purpose: to raise awareness and debate around countries in crisis.

“As scenes of the death and displacement of Iraqis and Syrians have become a norm, many of us have forgotten the real horror of what is happening in our world, to our humanity,” Yasseen, who is of both Iraqi and Syrian descent, explains. “The brief was clear: to create bold yet simplistic posters in response to the current situations in Iraq and Syria, using only two colours. Whether featuring typography or illustration – literal or abstract – the imperative was to be creative and meaningful.”

“Our hope is to inspire discussion in an inviting and culturally contemporary context,” Yasseen says. “For Iraq and Syria captures an important part of our shared story, and we hope it can both engage and contribute to a meaningful cause.”

For Iraq and Syria will take place at the KK Outlet, Shoreditch, where it will run from 2 June – 30 June, accompanied by original artwork from east London studio Our Place and two unreleased typefaces by designer James Griffin. The 22 screen printed posters will be displayed and sold in runs of 30, all hand pulled onto GF Smith, ice white 270gsm paper.

Forward Festival takes place in Vienna, Munich and Zurich and brings together creatives from all over the world. Having created the identity for 2016, Studio Zwupp was commissioned again for this year’s festival, and took the phrase “birth of an idea” as its inspiration. Combining type and illustration, a collection of abstract shapes allude to this notion of germination. The studio has animated parts of the identity, which again highlights this idea of growing and movement, and maintains an air of ambiguity.

“As a teen I loved the skateboard magazine Lodown from Berlin and before I even knew why I was attracted to it, I had decided it was what I wanted to do,” says Switzerland-born graphic designer Anna Haas. Whilst growing up in the small town of Fribourg, Anna first developed a love for books whilst working at a monastery where she was taught book restoration and repair. She later went on to study illustration and upon graduating began working as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Her work is an accomplished and slick portfolio that ranges from editorial design to visual identities and explores the world of art, culture and commerce.

On a rainy Paris morning, I met with Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag, the namesakes of renowned agency M/M (Paris), at their studio in the 10th, beside Canal Saint-Martin. Greeted by Michael’s Siberian Husky called Indy, we settled at the table of their meeting room, adjacent to the studio, where individual workspaces line two walls, a long, communal table forms the main drag, and skylights, dappled with raindrops, illuminate the room.

When working at a music store as a teenager, Bradley Pinkerton used to keep notes on who designed what covers and put them on display in front of other records that were being sold a the time. “Working there and being exposed to album art got me passionate about design,” he says and after being told about graphic design as a career by a school councillor, it seemed like a natural path.

Surface Multiples: Hiding in Plain Sight, is a series of projects by Royal College of Art graduate Alex Fergusson. Whilst creating work exploring ornamental language and symbolism in contemporary architecture, Alex began to notice buildings masked with digital printed imagery of architectural facades – often with no relationship to the building it covers. It was this sense of irony that first prompted the Surface Multiples series. “The element of humour and pantomime expressed through these temporary architectures was my initial interest, and as the project progressed I realised that the multiplications of surface (of this kind) are not only limited to architectural facades, but also the built environment, in particular construction sites across London.”